


Lost Souls: How Undragon-like!

by NessieFromSpace



Series: Lost Souls [2]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: He isn't going by Vaughn yet but it is Vaughn, Jack is still a pair of shoes, M/M, Rhys loses his arm, Rhys makes a new friend, Vaughn the dragon, Warning of gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 12:08:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12840849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NessieFromSpace/pseuds/NessieFromSpace
Summary: Rhys is minding his own business when the most rare of occurrences lands on him. He also makes a new friend.





	Lost Souls: How Undragon-like!

**Author's Note:**

> Yay!! We're gonna meet Vaughn!!! He's gonna go by Vunaryth and then Vun, but by the next installment, he'll be Vaughn. We just gotta wait a few years for the name of Vaughn to exist enough to be a viable name.

1478

Rhys rode along the countryside on his horse, Beauty. She was a young thing that Rhys had saved from the slaughter. She was infertile and therefore, useless to anyone. Rhys had stolen her away, a crime that would kill him if he was ever caught, but it was well worth it. She was loyal to him, most likely knowing he’d saved her. Horses were incredibly intelligent, unlike so many humans.

Rhys traveled with her everywhere and he wouldn’t trader her for the world. Her instincts never failed, so when she suddenly stopped and began to back up, frightened, Rhys hopped off her instantly and removed her reigns. Something was coming and it was unnatural.

“Come back before tomorrow, I will come back for you,” he whispered.

Her head bobbed several times and then she ran away.

Rhys looked ahead of him and into the sky, he could feel it now too, something was wrong. Something was coming. In the distance, he saw it, a large, dark mass flying through the sky. Rhys watched, frozen where he was by the sheer amount of power he could feel from them.

As they grew closer, Rhys realized he’d made a mistake. He was standing on the road of the wide, open cliff side and several, large serpent-like dragons were heading his way. He ran off the road as they grew closer, the one in front, haphazardly flapping its large, bat-like wings. They were getting lower and lower to the ground.

It hit hard, digging into the earth and pushing Rhys, sending him off the side of the cliff. Quickly, Rhys stopped himself, floating in midair, but banging against the rocky side. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. The earth shook around him as other enormous dragons landed.

Rhys, his curiosity boundless, rose to peak over the side of the cliff. The first dragon was large, its scales were a light green, but underneath each scale was black. Its underside was the same light green, same as the wings, but they had black undertones. It had open gashes that bled. A lot. It made Rhys sick to his stomach, but he gritted his teeth. It was all too rare to see a dragon, most thought them to be myths, or extinct. Rhys had lived hundreds of years and had only seen a glance of one. Dragons did not go out in the open. And yet, here were five. Five, large dragons, one wounded, the others landing to advance of the hurt one.

They growled, speaking to each other, their language harsh and ancient. Rhys could not understand, but a quick spell let him.

“-could get away from us? From what you’ve done?” A brown and black one demanded.

A reddish brown one spat at the wounded one. “I don’t understand how a dragon could go so wrong?”

The brown one looked solemn. “These things do happen, Mirawan. A dragon will be born rotten, their head full coal, their morals and loyalty perverted. We just need to understand that these things happen and when they do, we’re to snuff them out.”

The others snickered.

“I…” The wounded one spoke for the first time. “I did nothing wrong!”

The others snarled.

“ _Nothing wrong!?_ ” the brown one roared. “You have betrayed the dragon way of life! Instead of helping your fellow drakes, you have helped the humans!”

“It’s disgusting!” the reddish brown said.

“Unnatural!” The yellow one yelled.

The brown one rose up high, towering over the wounded dragon. “Vunaryth, you have been found guilty of sharing your wealth with humans, befriending and protecting not only humans, but xanas and stealing them from fellow dragons! Your death will be quick!”

Xanas were good fairies and protected humans, but they also knew where treasure was. This made them constant targets for dragons. Except this wounded one who, according to the others, rescued them instead. This dragon’s crimes were for bringing goodness to humans and fairies. Rhys could not let them hurt this dragon.

As the brown dragon came down on the wounded one, Rhys floated upward and extended his hands out to it, calling the wind to aid him and push the dragon back. The wind answered, its response loud and powerful, throwing all four offending dragons backwards. Rhys touched down on the disturbed soil and went to the wounded dragon. His shoes would not move, making him fall.

Swearing, he stood. “You do not tell me what to do, Jack!” He stood and surged forward, despite the heaviness in his feet. He stood in front of the wounded dragon, facing off against the other four.

They growled.

“A human?” the last one gasped, it was white.

The brown dragon righted itself. “It is a stupid human and does not understand our ways.”

“You will not harm this dragon any longer,” Rhys announced. His heart pounded and his shoes pinched. They always pinched when Jack was upset. Rhys’ chest heaved, adrenaline and magic coursing through him.

“It speaks our language,” the reddish brown one said.

“It’s a witch!” the yellow declared. “I love witches, all that magic! It’s my favorite meal!”

The others snickered.

Rhys stood his ground, pulling magic into him. This was going to get ugly before it got better. As they got close to Rhys, he sent them flying again. The wind was strong and swirled around him, dark clouds gathering, crackling with energy.

They twisted around each other in a large heap. Large roars vibrated the earth around them. Rhys almost stumbled, but his feet were planted firmly, Jack no doubt finally helping him. He smirked and planted his feet apart, ready for this fight.

The dragons untangled themselves. “I don’t know how you are possibly this strong, but there is no way you’re going to win. We’re the most powerful beings in this world! You’re not going to be able to defeat us!”

“Fine,” Rhys said. “But no matter what, I’m not going to let you kill this dragon.”

“Humans! Always butting in where they don’t belong!” The yellow one lunged at Rhys and was blown back again. A huge bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking the dragon. It shrieked, jostling around, its wings twitching horribly.

The other dragons lunged and Rhys blew them away, all but the reddish brown one. Rhys just barely missed that one, and it went for him. Terrified, Rhys thrust his right arm forward as the large jaws opened wide, about to eat him whole. The wind blew the dragon away, but its jaw snapped closed.

Pain, the worst pain Rhys had ever known spread through him. He screamed, his stored energy exploding, but more still, he drew power from somewhere. A great power he had never felt before and it amplified his power, shooting through him. Fire, ice, electricity and rage welled inside and burst forth.

The reddish brown dragon lay limp on the ground. Rhys stumbled backward, falling against the wounded dragon. Rhys yelled, his left arm automatically reaching to the pain. Nothing but slick blood. Blood that gushed from his right shoulder. He shrieked and quickly pulled his hand away, wiping the blood off on his pants. This couldn’t be happening.

“You!” the brown dragon snarled.

Rhys, through blurred vision, looked at it. The other two coiled their tails around the reddish brown dragon, supporting him. They began to flap their large wings, kicking up dust and blinding Rhys further. He coughed, spitting blood.

“You are dead!”

Panic sank deep into Rhys and he threw out his other hand, willing the wind once more. It answered, circling into a funnel, but this time, Rhys wasn’t going to play nice anymore. He concentrated, pulling everything he could. That fire, the electricity, the anger, swirling around and around forming ice shards. Small ice shards that shot out, encompassing the dragon. Tiny shards found their way through the cracks in its scales and took root. The fire had no effect, but it served as a nice distraction. The electricity fused the ice.

The dragon bellowed. “What have you done!?”

Rhys coughed, his head dizzy. “They’ll grow every time you get close to one of us.”

The dragon’s teeth glistened with saliva as it growled at Rhys. “I will get you for this. I live forever and I never forget a promise! And I promise you’ll pay for this!”

More dust kicked around as it leapt into the air and flew away, a hideous roar echoing like thunder.

Rhys fell to the ground, his vision turning black.

* * *

Slowly, the world around Rhys turned grey and he began to warm again. In the distance he could hear the crackle of a fire, it lit the grey into orange, red and then white.

Rhys’ eyes fluttered open to the sound of a fire. He groaned, his whole body in pain. He gasped and reached for his arm, only for something to flick his hand away.

Through crusted, blurry eyes, Rhys looked up and almost screamed. A large dragon stared at him, his teeth bared. Rhys sat up too quickly and hit the dragon’s bottom jaw, snapping it upward. They both reeled back, Rhys scrambled away further.

He recognized the dragon as the wounded one, then. He stilled, his body queasy from all the movement, his body rippling in pain. He was immortal, it would heal in time, but he would not grow his arm back. If he had it in his possession, he could have placed it next to the wound and it would have healed back on, but that was not possible now. It was in the belly of a dragon and he highly doubted that dragon would give it up.

The dragon watched Rhys intently. “Can you still understand me?” it asked.

Rhys nodded.

“I apologized for startling you, I was only trying to be friendly. Others feel comforted with a smile.”

Rhys frowned. “You were… smiling…?”

“I can give you a new arm, but it will still be painful,” it said.

"What do you mean?” he asked, concentrating was very difficult.

The dragon, pristine of blood and wounds, reached to a small scale and pried it off with its teeth. Rhys winced, his body aching at the sight. It placed the green and black scale in Rhys’ lap.

“Place it against your shoulder and you will have a new arm. It is a small way to repay you for your kindness.”

Rhys picked the scale up. It was heavy in his hand and very smooth. He looked at the gnarled area and took a deep breath. He did not think about it, just acted, placing the scale against his skin. The dragon bared its teeth again, concentrating on Rhys. The scale turned hot and Rhys let got of it, but it stayed against his shoulder. It began to sear Rhys’ skin, digging into it. Rhys screamed, convulsing on the floor. When it ebbed, so did Rhys’ cry. The burning dimmed and he lay there, the pain overwhelming and tiring.

“It will take time for the arm to grow, but the pain should lessen, you should get some more sleep.”

Rhys didn’t move. He stared at the dragon, thoughtful. “What are you going to do now?”

The dragon rested its head on the ground, next to Rhys’. “I will figure something out.”

Rhys smiled softly. “You could travel with me until you do. A friend would be nice to have.”

“Friend,” it said, testing the word.

“You wouldn’t be able to stay looking like a dragon, though,” he said and drifted to sleep and did not wake up for a few more days.

When he did, a fire continued to burn and the dragon was still there, patiently waiting. It bared its teeth and this time, Rhys recognized it as a smile. It was the worst smile he’d ever seen, but he smiled back.

“You are awake.”

Rhys felt his body out. It was still in pain, but less so, remarkably. He slowly sat up, realizing he was starving. He looked for his bag, but found it nowhere.

“I have brought you food, but I did not know how much to find.” His head pointed to a large elk that lay dead at the entrance of the cave.

Rhys’ eyes were wide. “That… Is… Much too much for me, but I am extremely grateful!” With a flick of his finger, the elk lurched and a large chunk appeared above his hand. He moved it over to the fire where it floated at the perfect range, spinning slowly and evenly.

“If that is all you require, I will eat the rest.” When Rhys nodded, the dragon gulped up the elk, antlers and all.

Rhys, trying not to stare, cleared his throat. “Where are we? Are we far from where we… met?” Rhys asked.

“Not far as the dragon flies,” it said, its teeth once more opening in a smile.

Rhys smiled. “Good, my horse is around there and I aim to collect her back.”

“When you are rested enough, we will go back.”

They were silent.

“Did you mean what you said? About having a travel companion?” the dragon asked.

“A friend?” Rhys smiled. “Yes!”

“If you do not mind I would like to travel with you, I do not know for how long.”

Rhys smiled. “I will enjoy every moment! My name is Rhys.”

“I am Vunaryth.”

“Is that a male or female name?”

The dragon laughed. “Male.”

“Well, that is… A hard name to pronounce… Can I call you something else? That name is a dead giveaway that you aren’t human.”

The dragon bowed.

Rhys thought for a long time. “I’m not sure it’s a real name, but it’ll sound more believable. How does Vun sound?”

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


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